Investing

Residents and communities know best what will make their neighborhoods thrive. More affordable housing, better schools, lively shops and businesses, greener parks and safer streets—these are things all residents want. The ideas and vision are there, but too often, what is missing is the capital to get these projects realized. That’s where LISC's investment tools come in.

Access to capital is essential to building community economic strength. LISC has been a leader in this area, pioneering tools such as the Low Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC) or New Market Tax Credits (NMTC) to aid the flow of private capital into community-driven endeavors.

As a Community Development Financial Institution, or CDFI, we use our funds to provide loans, equity and grants to non-profit and for-profit partners leading projects and programs that help their communities.

LISC Chicago’s annual loan portfolio exceeds $12 million.

In the last three years, LISC Chicago provided more than $27 million in loans to support community development projects across the city and $162 million was invested in Chicago through our affiliate, the National Equity Fund (NEF). LISC’s borrowers include non-profit and for-profit developers and range from large and complex deals with multiple financing layers to small deals that also require capacity-building support.